Free Education Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds

All three and four-year-olds are entitled to free high-quality early education, starting in the term after a child’s third birthday until compulsory school age

The current free entitlement is 15 hours a week (570 hours a year) for 38 weeks of the year.

Parents/carers of two-year-olds who meet a range of criteria are entitled to the same amount of free high-quality early years education or childcare, from the term after a child’s second birthday until the end of the term in which they are three.

Extended Entitlement – 30 free hours

Qualifying parents/carers who meet a range of criteria are entitled to free high quality early education for 30 hours per week (1140 hours per year) taken over no fewer than 38 weeks. Parents/carers can take up as much or as little of their entitlement as they wish.

The extended free childcare entitlement will be available to parents/carers of three and four year olds from September 2017

For further information on all aspects of the free entitlement schemes please open the link below: